The material from which this sketch is taken has
been compiled from many years of research and correspondence.
These efforts have been made by Mrs. Bertha Y. Jensen [1].
She has very graciously shared this material and has given
generous assistance and encouragement at all times.

To all others of our family and to our genealogical
correspondents, we extend our gratitude. We will not list their
names at this time due to lack of time and space and hope that
they will understand.

. . . Austin Yancey is said to have been born in Tyson Co.,
N.C. on the 29th of August 1752. So far his parentage is unknown
as are brothers and sisters, if any. [2]

There is no record of a Tyson Co., N.C. There was, however, a
Tryon Co. formed in 1768 and discontinued in 1779. Rutherford Co.
was formed in 1779 from part of the former Tryon Co. In the year
1816 a postoffice was noted at William Tyson's store in
Rutherford Co.

Austin married Sarah Garrison Feb 11, 1775. Sarah was born in
1756. She was then 19 years of age and he was 23 years. [3]

Early that summer Austin entered the service of the state of
N.C. as a volunteer from Rutherford Co. He went to McKinney's
Station on the Broad River and attached himself to the command of
Col. William Graham, leader of the Rutherford Co. Militia. He was
directed to detach 25 men and proceed to Chimney Mt on the Broad
River. For four and one half months they guarded the mountain
passes between Chimney Mt. and Green River Cove (Cave?) a
distance of about 20 miles. This was done in order to prevent the
Cherokee Indians (then hostile) from making incursions between
these points, upon the defenseless frontier settlers. In
September of this same year these troops were disbanded.

Austin and Sarah's first child was born in 1776; a son named
Austin, and then Sarah abt 1778, Mary abt 1780, another daughter
abt 1782, a daughter abt 1785, Nancy b Aug 22 1787 and James bn
1789. [4]

In 1781 Austin visited relatives in South Carolina, and while
there, troops were called to aid in the siege of old Ninety Six
(an old district in S. C.) He volunteered and attached himself to
Obid Holloway's company. They were so engaged for a period of
forty days, from the 22nd of May to the 19th of June 1781.[5]

The first Federal Census taken in 1790 indicates Austin as a
resident of Ninety Six District in S.C. The family then consisted
of 1 male over 16, 1 male under 16, and 4 females. Thus 2 males
and 1 female were no longer in the family household.

We now come to one of our major problems in unraveling our
history. There [appear to be] two Austin Yanceys, father and son.
One of the Austins purchased 100 acres of land in 1794 from
Samuel Hunter who had the original patent. This land was in
Rutherford Co., N.C. on the north branch of the Nobb (or Nash)
Creek, a tributary of the Broad River. [6]

We find Sophie Yancey married to Burrell Bell, 17 Jan 1797.
The witness to this marriage was Austin Yancey [11].
Perhaps Sophie was one of the two unnamed daughters, and either
her father or her brother was her witness. This was in Blount
County, Tenn and it was about this time that our family started
on it's long and slow westward migration.

Nancy, the youngest daughter, in 1805 married Benjamin
Franklin Kelley [11]. He was the son of Richard
Kelley and Maria (Gibbs) Kelley who immigrated to America in
1773.

From 1800 thru 1806, [one of the] Austin
Yanceys was on the tax list of the State of Kentucky. He then
lived in Lincoln County on the Rolling Fork River and had 50
acres. [12]

Richard Kelley Yancey was born in 1798 in Tennessee, Matilda
Yancey was born in 1803 and our Hiram John was born 3rd August
1804, the latter two both born in Kentucky. Hiram John gave as
his birthplace as Carey City in Bell County, Ky. These three gave
their father as Austin Yancey and their mother as Marie. [7]
Conceivably then, either Austin could have been their father. It
is possible that his [Austin Sr's] wife Sarah
was one of those missing in the 1790 census, previously
mentioned, and that he had remarried. [Or these could be
children of Austin Yancey Jr.]

Hiram John married Elizabeth Pratt [8] and their first
son William Riley was born the 3rd of June 1825 in Warren County,
Tennessee. Richard married Elizabeth or Nancy Smith. About 1826
Austin Sr, Richard and Hiram John with their respective families
moved north to Williamson County, Illinois (then Franklin
County). To date there is no record of Matilda. [9]

When Austin Sr was 81 years old in 1833, he made a deposition
to the Franklin County Clerk applying for his pension for his
Revolutionary War service. This was eventually denied him for he
had less than six months service time required. Williamson County
was established in 1839 and was a division of the said Franklin
County. [5]

From May 15 until August 2nd 1832, Hiram John and William R.
Yancey served in Capt. Holman's company in the Black Hawk War. It
would seem that William R. could also be one of Austin's sons.
[13]

[10] After living in Williamson County for about 25
years Hiram and Elizabeth Pratt Yancey, their eight children and
their respective families, in 1853 left Illinois and started
west. During their journey, as the passed though Missouri,
Elizabeth died and was buried along the trail.

Notes by Dennis J Yancey:

Following notes in reference to numbers embedded in the
text above:

[1] Lillian Yancey Bogardus' line of
descent is as follows: Lillian, William Henry, Alonzo Tennen,
William Riley, Hiram John Sr, Austin Yancey. Bertha Yancey
Jensen's line of descent is as follows: Bertha, Adam, Hiram John
Jr., Hiram John Sr, Austin Yancey.

[2] - Although the parentage of Austin
Yancey Sr has yet to be proven, it seems quite logical and
probable that he was the son of one William Yancey and Sophia
Davis of North Carolina. Sophia Davis was the daughter of one
Richard Davis and is mentioned in his will of 1760 in Granville
Co., NC. In 1768 Austin Yancey signed as a witness on a deed
record of William Yancey in Rutherford Co., NC. William Yancey appears to have
traveled much, possibly to South Carolina and later Tennessee
where he died in Montgomery County about 1810.

"Inventory of the
estate of William Yancey, decd. One note for the sum of
twenty pounds bearing date on the day of August one thousand
seven hundred & ninety two. Subscribed by Samuel Earl. P.
Darby Adm.
Rendered October Term 1813"

"State of Tennessee, Montgomery
County. Agreeable to an order of Court to us James Hambleton
& David Gould Justices of the peace for Montgomery
County, directed January Term 1816 for the purpose of
settling with patrick Darby, administrator of the estate of
William Yancey, late, of Montgomery County, deceased, reports
as follows: No 1 that a note on Samuel Earles for 23 pounds,
six shillings, eight pence as appears of record, said Earles
proved on tryal to have been paid for costs on the said suit
of Earles $9.85. Letters of Administrators.80 $10.65.
Rendered January Term 1816"

The parentage
of this William Yancey is another
mystery. If we follow the theory that all Yanceys descend from
either Lewis Davis Yancey of Culpeper or Charles Yancey of
Hanover - then it would seem most likely that William was either
a son or more probably a grandson of Charles Yancey of Hanover -
possibly by either John or Charles Yancey for whom little
information is available. A probable sibling of Austin Yancey Sr
includes one Fanny Yancey who married Nathan Dobbs about 1790 in
Georgia and had a son named Austin. Another possible sibling is
one Charles Yancey who died in early Georgia leaving various
children - including possibly an Alfred Yancey who married an
Elizabeth Dobbs (relative of Nathan Dobbs).

[3] The name of Austin Yancey Sr's wife
as well as the marriage date and the names of many of the
children along with birth dates - is not well proven. The source
of this information appears to be information gathered by a
descendant - one E.
L. Kelley in research and travels
through the South. These records were later referenced in various
"Re-organized
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" archival records (headquarters in Independence,
Missouri) as well as information included on early DAR applications of descendants of Austin Yancey. Proof for this family
information is lacking - but there is nothing to indicate that
the information may be incorrect.

[4] Another possible daughter
not recorded here is one Elizabeth Yancey who married Isham
Farris 9 Jan 1806 in Knox Co., KY. Yet another Yancey who appears
to have some connection to the Austin Yancey family is one Betsy Yancey who married
Christopher Rynierson Sr as well as a
Mary Yancey who married his son Christopher Reynierson Jr - 13
Jul 1827 in Casey Co., KY.

[5] Austin Yancey's Revolutionary War Pension
application can be found in the
National Archives under the following numberR11921. Austin's application is dated the
8th of October 1833 and give his age as 81 years, 1 month, and 10
days. A letter in the National Archives file rejecting his claim
is dated 3 April 1836. It should be noted that various records
report one Arthur (or Austin) Yancey being a Rev. War Soldier who
died in Fulton County, Illinois. The source of this information
appears to be a single page in the National Archives File of
(our) Austin Yancey of Franklin County Kentucky - which
seemingly, in error, records the name as Arthur, instead of
Austin, and records the burial place as Fulton County, Illinois -
although no other page in the entire file mentions Fulton County.
Interestingly, this page is most often NOT included with material
sent to those requesting copies of this material from the
National Archives. All evidence seems to indicate that both the
name of Arthur as well as the burial place as Fulton County,
Illinois are in error. There is no evidence that Austin Yancey
ever left Franklin County, Illinois.

[6] There is also a deed record of
William Yancey in Tryon Co., NC in 1769 of which Austin Yancey
was the witness. It is thought this was his father. Also there does
not actually seem to be any real evidence of TWO Austin Yanceys - father and
son.

[7] This is from LDS (Mormon) Church records, originally of Ft Weber, Utah (now housed at Church
headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah). Hiram John Yancey's birth
place, as originally transcribed from these records as
"Carey City, Kentucky" and which has been recorded on
Family records since the 1930's - is now in question. A review of
these records would indicate that Carey City, Kentucky
was in error and is actuality correctly recorded as Casey
County, Kentucky. Bell County (formed in 1867) was not recorded
as birth place of Hiram on these original records - but was
reported in Family Records after atlases had been referenced in
ascertaining a location for a "Cary/Carey City,
Kentucky". There are some evidences of this family being in Casey County, Kentucky. Casey County was formed in 1807 from Lincoln County,
where Austin Yancey (Jr.?) is recorded on tax records from about
1800-1806. It should be noted however, that Bell County was
formed in 1867 from Knox & Harlan Counties which were also
originally part of Lincoln County Kentucky.

[8] There seems to be little, or no,
information about this Elizabeth Pratt. Some early reports
recorded the father of Elizabeth as one Asahel Pratt - this was
later found to be in error. Given the fact that one of her sons is named
Jesse Pratt Yancey - one wonders if her father was named Jesse. Family
stories tell of her dying on the trail as the family travelled from Illinois to
St Joseph, Missouri from where they joined wagon trains going west.

[9] Matilda married a widower by the
name of William Stevens - they later traveled to
Utah. She is buried in Holden, Utah. A grave marker records her
birth & death dates as well as her parents names. She had no
children of her own. Further research needs to be done to ascertain
whether Matilda Married William Stevens before or after the arrival in the Utah
Valley (there are conflicting records).

[10] Records seem to indicate that at least some of the
Yanceys, including Hiram John Yancey Sr, were part of the
Campbellite movement in America in the 1830's. Various members of the
Campbellite movement later became converts to the Latter Day Saint movement
founded by Joseph Smith. It was the year 1844, that various members of the Yancey family were converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, also known as the "Mormons". It would seem that most of Austin Yancey Sr & Jr's
children who had moved to Illinois were converted to this new
faith. It is interesting to note the name of "Parley
Pratt" among some of this family - raising the theory that
the Mormon leader Parley P. Pratt was a key figure in their
conversion - but nothing has been found to support this theory.
It was about this same time, 1844, when the prophet Joseph Smith,
leader of the church was assassinated, the church broke up into
two main groups - those that stayed in Illinois and Missouri and
later became known as the "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints
(RLDS)". The other group under the
direction of Brigham Young traveled west to Utah starting about
1847 and settled in the Salt Lake Valley, later establishing
Mormon colonies throughout the Rocky Mountains - members of this
latter group are often referred to as "LDS". Many of
The Yancey family - like Nancy Yancey Kelley and her descendants
as well as William R. Yancey and Richard Kelly Yancey and their
families stayed in Illinois and many of them were leaders in the
RLDS church. Among the descendants of Nancy Yancey Kelley is
Bishop E. L. Kelley who was presiding Bishop of the
RLDS faith as well as his brother W. H. Kelley who was
among the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (RLDS). Some of Nancy's
descendants were also part of the "Christian Church" - Christopher Greenup
Kelley was a minister for the Christian Church. Austin Yancey's children Hiram John, and Matilda Yancey
travelled west and probably arrived n Utah the late fall of 1851 (though soem
report 1853). This was a little after the major exodus to Utah
from 1847-1850 - which raises the question why they hadn't come earlier. Hiram's descendants appear to have settled
around Ft Weber near what is now Bountiful, Utah. Most of them, however,
appear to have become dissatisfied with the LDS (Mormon) Church and most of them traveled on west to California about
1859 at the time of Johnston's Army - leaving the Mormon church, some later went North to Oregon.
Hiram John Yancey Jr., left his pregnant wife in Bountiful, Utah
and her later-to-be-born son, Adam Yancey is the ancestor of most of the Mormon Yanceys of Utah
and Idaho. There were even newspaper reports
concerning Hiram's leaving his wife in the Utah Valley.
Matilda Yancey also stayed in Utah and died there -
she did not have any children of her own but was the stepmother
to her husbands children from a previous marriage. Some of
Richard Kelley Yancey's descendants (who had stayed in Illinois)
later migrated from Illinois to Utah and were members of the LDS
faith. Also of interest is that various of Christopher Greenup
Kelley's descendants ended up moving west to Utah and Idaho (though
they were not LDS).

[11] There are three known
signatures of an Austin Yancey. The first is found in 1797 in
Blount County, Tennessee as a witness to the marriage bond of
Sophia Yancey and Burrell Bell. The name is spelled "Austin
Yancey". The second signature is recorded in 1805 in Lincoln
County, Kentucky Court Records where an Austin Yancey requested a
grant for a marriage license for Nancy Yancey who was marrying
Benjamin Kelley. The name is written as "Austan
Yancy"
and does not match the signature on Blount County, Tennessee
records. The third signature is on the Revolutionary War Pension
Application of Austin Yancey Sr who was living in Franklin
County, Illinois in 1833. This signature appears to match the
Blount County, Tennessee signature. Some claim that the difference of
the Lincoln
County, Kentucky signature from the other two is evidence of there
being two different Austin Yanceys (Sr &
Jr) and that the one in Lincoln County, Kentucky was Austin
Yancey Jr. - but one should seriously consider that the signature that
looks different than the other two - is becauwe it was written by the
clerk - and is really a copy of the origonal doucment - copied by the
clerk.[ graphic showing three documents with his signature ]

[12] Lincoln County was one of
three original Kentucky Counties -
established when Kentucky became a state. Knox County was formed
in 1800 from parts of Lincoln County. Casey County was formed in
1807 from parts of Lincoln. Harlan County was formed in 1819 from
parts of Knox County. Bell County was not formed until 1867 from
parts of Harlan and Knox Counties.

[13] Military records for
Hiram John Yancey and William Riley Yancey are on file in the
National Archives. Information is found in these files that is
not found elsewhere - such as in formation about the second
marriage of Hiram John Yancey.

[14] 1790-1850 census records
below. One interesting thing to consider is that, although most
Yancey families of the pre-civil war South were slave owners -
and slave ownership was something recorded on the Federal Census
Schedules. Census records for Austin Yancey and his descendants
indicate that they did not own any slaves.

William R Yancy, age 38 born in TN (farmer)
Rachel, age 37, born in TN
John H, age 16 born in IL
Mary A, age 15 born in IL
James A, age 13 born in IL
Eliza A, age 11 born in IL
William R., age 7 born in IL
Parley, age 1 born in IL

Richard Yancey, age 52 born in TN (farmer)
Elizabeth, age 56 born in NC
Mariah, age 19 born in IL
Joseph, age 25 born in TN
Richard, age 17 born in IL
Thomas Claxton, age 12 born in IL
John Claxton, age 9 born in IL

William R Yancey, age 25 born in TN
(farmer)
Elizabeth, age 25 born in TN
Alonzo, age 3 born in IL
Hiram B, age 1 born in IL

Austin J Yancey, age 26 born in TN
(laborer)
Martha, age 19 born in IL
Mary, age 3 born in IL
Richard, age 6/2 born in IL

Thomas Yancey, age 22 born in TN (farmer)
Emeline, age 20 born in IL
Oliver, age 1 born in IL

Family Chart:

Based on the above and other information the families of
Austin Yancey Sr and Jr. are here summarized. It must be kept in
mind, however, that it seems quite possible that all
of the children listed may have been children of Austin Yancey
Sr. and that they were from a second marriage to Maria.
Nothing has been found to prove it one way or the other - but
there really are no records that prove that there were two
different Austin Yanceys at one time - this tends to make one
believe that there was only one Austin Yancey with two successive
wives.